JAR! Blogging 1.1.4 Jailbreak

As most probably know, Canada doesn't have the iPhone. Well, we do, but it's a cr@ppy piece of VoIP. Nothing near as revolutionary or useful as Le Steve's little universe denter. We also have a GSM monopoly with data rates so high Warren Buffet wants no part of them. (A national newspaper once calculated that to even approach an AT&T type iPhone plan on Rogers would cost well over $1000 a month, and would still offer less service).

Despite that, there are many iPhones up in the frozen north, unlocked, unsupported, but much loved by their users. I've personally been rocking a 1.1.1 firmware iPhone ever since I stomped my WinMob into oblivion and skipped my Treo across the St. Lawrence seaway.

Today, I decided to take the leap and upgrade my most precious of gadgets, my Unix in-the-pocket, my multi-touch new-interfacer, to 1.1.4.

Since I'm petrified of bricking the poor little fellow, I'm going with the easiest and most straight-forward solution, iLiberty X.

First I sync everything. Nice and safe. Now I'm going to restore to 1.1.4. Not upgrade -- restore. They're pretty clear on that point.

Okay, launching the iLiberty X GUI. iTunes shuts down, iTunes service shuts down, I bite down -- hard enough to draw blood, and pray to every god and deity I could think of.

Step 2... Some parts seem to tic away for an exasperatingly long time... Will it brick any second? Is Steve Jobs chuckling even now, cracking his knuckles, and preparing to "unleash the hounds"?

YES! Complete!

iTunes is coming up and recognizing an iPhone! Quick test -- we have jigglies!! Looking for cell network... CAN Rogers! (Used to just say Rogers, the CAN part is new...) Installer.app is there, non-AT&T SIM is working, phone is working. That's jailbreak, unlock, and activation FTW!

Okay, now all that's left is to re-enter a bunch of Wi-Fi keys, reassign favorites, and I'm sure fix up a dozen or so other minor settings, but after languishing in the 3rd world for so long, it feels nice to be a second-class citizen again.

Note: jailbreaking, unlocking, and activating are not Apple approved procedures, might violate your ULA, certainly voids your warranty, and could well brick you phone. No one here advises anyone to do it, or takes any responsibility for results, good or ill, from doing it. Proceed at your own risk. Ed. Note: Actually, we fully support you doing whatever you want to your iPhone, just don't blame us if it goes wrong! :p